Auto Suggestions are available once you type at least 3 letters. Use up arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+up arrow) and down arrow (for mozilla firefox browser alt+down arrow) to review and enter to select.

Overview

In A Thousand Tomorrows, Cody Gunner, a talented but angry cowboy, meets Ali Daniels, a lovely and mysterious barrel-racer. The two are national champions, top of their game, alone and intent on staying that way. Cody has rejected everything about his past, and only has room for his little brother, Carl Joseph, born with Down Syndrome. Ali embraces life, making the most of every moment because of a secret she keeps hidden from the public, connecting her with a sister who died before she had a chance to live. Before their paths intersect, competing is all they need, but what fears must they face if together they ignite a love that burns brighter than both of them? In Just Beyond the Clouds, Cody is nursing a broken heart over the death of the love of his life, when he meets Elle Dalton, Carl Joseph's teacher. Cody can't bear the thought of losing his little brother, too, so when Elle begins championing Carl Joseph's independence, she finds herself at odds with Cody. But even while they battle it out, they can't deny the instinctive connection they share, and Cody faces a crisis of the heart. What if Elle is the one woman who can teach Cody that love is still possible? In the brand-new omnibus edition, Karen Kingsbury's continuing story of devotion, tragedy, and renewal, comes to life, teaching that while love often causes the heart to break, it's also the only thing that can mend it again.

About the Author

USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury is America's #1 inspirational novelist, with more than 15 million copies of her award-winning books in print. She has written more than 40 novels, ten of which have hit #1 on national lists. Karen is also a public speaker, reaching more than 100,000 women annually through various national events. Karen and her husband, Don, live in the Pacific Northwest with their six children, three of whom are adopted from Haiti. You can visit Karen's website at www.karenkingsbury.com.

Read an Excerpt

A Thousand Tomorrows & Just Beyond The Clouds Omnibus

By Kingsbury, Karen

Center Street

A Thousand Tomorrows

Chapter One

Mary Williams never saw it coming.

She became Mike Gunner’s wife the summer of 1972, back when love was all the world needed, big enough to solve any problem. So big no one imagined it might end or die or drop off suddenly the way the muddy Mississippi River did ten yards out.

The wedding was small, held on a hillside in Oxford not far from Ole Miss, a stone’s throw from the grassy football field where Mike had been king. Marriage, they told themselves, wouldn’t mean losing their independence. They were just adding another layer to their relationship, something more diverse, more complex. As a reminder, during the ceremony they each held something that symbolized themselves—Mary, a book of poetry; Mike, a football.

A football.

Looking back that should’ve been a sign, because football was Mike’s first love, and what sort of man could be married to two lovers? But at the time—with half the guests in flowing tie-dyed gowns and flower wreaths—holding a football and a book of poetry seemed hip and new, a spit in the face of tradition and marital bondage. No three-piece suits and starched aprons for Mike and Mary.

Mike had an NFL contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and a pretty new house a few miles from the stadium. Mary was a runaway, so leaving Biloxi meant cutting ties that were already frayed. They would live as one, him in a Falcons uniform, her with a pen and paper, ready to capture the deep phrases and rhymes that grew in the soil of her heart.

Babies? They would wait five years at least. Maybe ten. She was only nineteen, a child herself. Marriage would mean finding new and heightened ways to love each other. Sundays cheering from the stands while her husband blazed a trail down the football field, and lazy Tuesdays, barefoot and sipping coffee while she recited to him her latest creation.

That was the plan, anyway.

But God didn’t get the memo, because Mary was pregnant three months later and gave birth to a baby boy shortly before their first anniversary. Cody William Gunner, they called him. Little Codester. Mary put away the pen and paper and bought a rocking chair. She spent her days and most nights walking a crying baby, heating up bottles, and changing diapers.

“Sorry I’m not around more,” Mike told her. He wasn’t used to babies. Besides, if he wanted to keep up, he needed more time at the field house, more reps with the weights, more hours on the track.

Mary told him she didn’t mind, and the funny thing was, she really didn’t. Life was good at home. Mike was happy about being a father, because Cody was all boy from the moment he was born. His first word was ball, and Mike bought him a pair of running shoes months before he could walk.

The years that followed were a blur of vibrant reds and happy yellows. Mike was coming into his own, each season showing him faster, more proficient at catching the long bomb. There had been no warning, no sign that life was about to fall apart.

In the spring of 1978, when Cody was nearly five, Mary learned she was expecting again. Still, it wasn’t the coming baby, but a bad catch one October Sunday that changed everything. Mike was all alone, ten yards away from the nearest defender, when he reached for the sky, grabbed the ball and came down at an angle that buckled his knees.

A torn anterior ligament, the hospital report showed. Surgery was scheduled; crutches were ordered. “You’ll miss a season,” the doctor told him. “To be honest, I’m not sure you’ll ever run the same again.”

Six weeks later Mary gave birth to Carl Joseph.

From the beginning, Carl was different. He didn’t cry the way Cody had, and he slept more than usual. His fussiest moments were during feeding time, when milk from the bottle would leak out his nose while he was eating, causing him to choke and sputter and cough.

Mike would look at him and get nervous. “Why’s he doing that?”

“I’m not sure.” Mary kept a burp rag close by, dabbing at the baby’s nose and convincing herself nothing was wrong. “At least he isn’t crying.”

Either way, Mike wanted to be gone. As soon as he could, he got back in the training room, working harder than ever to make the knee well again. By the next fall, he was cleared to play, but he was more than a second slower in the forty.

“We’ll try you at special teams, Gunner,” the coach told him. “You’ve got to get your times down if you want your spot back.”

His future suddenly as shaky as his left knee, Mike began staying out with the guys after games, drinking and coming home with a strange, distant look in his eyes. By the time Carl Joseph was two, Mike was cut from the Falcons. Cut without so much as a thank you or a good-luck card.

By then they knew the truth about Carl Joseph.

Their second son had Down syndrome. His condition came with a host of problems, feeding issues, developmental and speech delays. One morning Mary sat Mike down at the breakfast table.

“You never talk about Carl Joseph.” She put her hands on her hips. “You act like he has the flu or something.”

Mike shrugged. “We’ll get him therapy; he’ll be fine.”

“He won’t be fine, Mike.” She heard a crack in her voice. “He’ll be this way forever. He’ll live with us forever.”

It was that last part that caught Mike’s attention. He said nothing significant at the time, nothing Mary could remember. But that summer, he was gone more than he was home. Always his story was the same. He was traveling the country looking for a tryout, getting a few weeks’ look in one city and then another, working out with a handful of teams, trying to convince coaches he hadn’t lost a step, hadn’t done anything but get stronger since his injury.

But one weekend morning, when Mike was still asleep in their bedroom, Mary found a Polaroid picture in his duffle bag. It was of him in a bar surrounded by three girls, one on each knee, one draped over his shoulder.

When Mike woke up, Mary was in the kitchen ready to confront him. He would have to stop traveling, stop believing his next contract was a tryout away. Bars would be a thing of the past, because she needed him at home, helping out with the boys. Money was running out. If football had nothing more to offer, he needed to find a job, some other way to support them. She had her speech memorized, but it was all for nothing.

He took control of the conversation from the moment he found her at the kitchen table.

“This…” He tossed his hands and let them fall limp at his sides. His eyes were bloodshot. “This isn’t what I want anymore.”

“What?” She held up the Polaroid. “You mean this?”

Anger flashed in his eyes. He snatched the picture from her, crumpled it, and slammed it into the trash can. The look he gave her was cold, indifferent. He gritted his teeth. “What I do outside this house is my business.”

She opened her mouth, but before she could tell him he was wrong, he slid his wedding ring from his left hand and dropped it on the table between them.

“It’s over, Mary. I don’t love you anymore.”

Carl’s cry sounded from upstairs. Slow and monotone, the cry of a child who would always be different. Mary looked up, following the sound. Then she found Mike’s eyes again. “This isn’t about me.” She kept her tone calm, gentle. “It’s about you.”

A loud breath escaped his lips. “It’s not about me.”

“It is.” She sat back, her eyes never leaving his. “You were on top of the world before you got hurt; now you’re out of work and afraid.” Compassion found a place in her voice. “Let’s pull together, Mike.” She stood, picked up his ring, and held it out to him. “Let me help you.”

Carl’s crying grew louder.

Mike closed his eyes. “I can’t…” His words were a tortured whisper. “I can’t stay here. I can’t be a father to him, Mary. Every time I look at him, I… I can’t do it.”

Mary felt the blood drain from her face and the cheap linoleum turn liquid beneath her feet. What had he said? This was about Carl Joseph? Precious Carl, who never did anything but smile at Mike and long to be held by him?

Mary’s scalp tingled, and the hairs on her arms stood straight up. “You’re saying you can’t stay married to me because of… because of Carl Joseph?”

“Don’t say it like that.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and hung his head.

Carl’s crying grew still louder.

“But that’s it, right?” The truth was exploding within her, spraying shrapnel at her heart and soul and leaving scars that would stay forever. “You want out because you can’t be a father to Carl Joseph. Or because you’re embarrassed by him. Because he’s not perfect.”

“I’m already packed, Mary. I called a cab; I’m flying to California and starting over. You can have the house; I’ll send money when I get a job.”

In a small, less important part of her mind, Mary wondered where Cody was, why he was so quiet. But she couldn’t act on her curiosity. She was too busy reminding herself to breathe. “You’re leaving because your son has Down syndrome? Do you hear yourself, Mike?”

But he was already headed back up the stairs.

When he left the house ten minutes later, he mumbled a single good-bye to no one in particular. Cody came tearing into the entryway from the living room, his eyes wide, forehead creased with worry.

“Dad, wait!” Cody ran out the door, his untied tennis shoes flopping with every step.

Carl Joseph in tow, Mary followed, horrified at the scene playing out. The cab waited out front, and without turning back, Mike helped the driver load both his suitcases into the trunk.

Cody stopped a few feet away, chest heaving. “Dad, where are you going?”

Mike hesitated, his eyes on Cody. “Never mind.”

“But Dad—” Cody took a step closer. “When’re you coming home?”

“I’m not.” He looked at Mary and back at Cody. “This is it, son.” Mike moved toward the passenger door. “Be good for your mama, you hear?”

“But Dad… I got a baseball game Friday; you promised you’d be there!” The boy was frantic, his words breathless and clipped. “Dad, don’t go!”

“Don’t do this, Mary.” Mike shot her a warning look. He lowered himself a few inches toward the passenger seat. “I have nothing to say.”

“Dad!” Cody looked from Mike to Mary and back again. “What’s happening; where’re you going?”

Mike bit his lip and gave a curt nod to Cody. “Good-bye, son.”

“Fine!” Mary screamed the word, her voice shrill and panicked. “Leave, then.” She bent over, her knees shaking. Tears ran in rivers down her face. “Go ahead and leave. But if you go now, don’t come back. Not ever!”

“What?” Cody looked desperate and sick, his world spinning out of control. He glared at his mother. “Don’t say that, Mom. Don’t tell him not to come back!”

Mary’s eyes never left Mike’s face. “Stay out of this, Cody. If he doesn’t want us, he can go.” She raised her voice again. “Do you hear me, Mike? Don’t come back!”

What happened next would be a part of all their lives as long as morning followed night. Cody’s father looked once more at the three of them standing on the lawn, then he climbed into the backseat, shut the door, and the cab pulled away.

“Dad!” Cody screamed his name and took off running.

The sound frightened Carl Joseph. He buried his face in his hands and fell onto his knees, rocking forward and calling out, “Mama… Mama… Mama.”

Mary went to him. “Shhh. It’s okay.” She rubbed his back. Why was this happening? And why hadn’t there been any warning? She was dizzy with shock, sick to her stomach and barely able to stand as she watched Cody chase after his father’s cab.

Never did the cab slow even a little, but all the while Cody kept running. “Dad! Dad, wait!” Five houses down, seven, ten. “Don’t go, Dad! Please!”

Each word hit Mary like a Mack truck. When she couldn’t take another minute, she screamed after him, “Cody, get back here!”

But he wouldn’t come, wouldn’t stop running. All the way to the end of the block, with a speed he’d gotten from his father, he ran until the cab was long gone from sight. Then, for ten minutes, he stood there. A dark-haired eight-year-old boy, standing on the corner staring after a cab that wasn’t ever coming back.

In some small way, Mary was almost glad Mike was gone.

Sure, a few hours earlier she’d been willing to fight for their marriage. But that was when she thought things were simpler. She could understand his confusion, what with his football career in limbo.

But to be embarrassed by Carl Joseph?

Carl was her son, a part of her. Because of his disability, he’d never be capable of the kind of low, mean-spirited act his father had just committed. No, Carl would always have a kind, simple heart, but Mike would miss that—the same way he’d missed everything about Carl Joseph since the day he was diagnosed.

Even as she stood there, willing Cody to turn around and come home, not quite believing her marriage was over, she felt her resolve building. There was no loving a man who didn’t love his own son. If Mike didn’t want to be a father to Carl Joseph, she’d love the boy enough for both of them. She would survive, even if she never heard from Mike Gunner again.

She focused on Cody once more, his little-boy shoulders slumped forward as he waited, facing the empty spot where the cab had disappeared. He was crying, no doubt. She could almost see his smudged, tearstained cheeks and the slack-jawed look on his face. Was he feeling the way she felt? Abandoned? Overcome with despair?

A strange thought hit her, and suddenly fear had the upper hand.

Because the thought was something she hadn’t considered until that moment. Yes, she would survive, and certainly Carl Joseph would be okay without Mike. But Cody adored his father; he always had. And if the boy’s slumped shoulders were any indication, Cody might not bounce back the way she and Carl would.

Editorial Reviews

"Tender-hearted readers beware! Karen has done it again! After you turn the last page of Just Beyond the Clouds and put away the tissues, you will find yourself thinking of the characters again and again. Every time you do, you will smile."

Robin Jones Gunn

"Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite writers."

Pat Williams

"A touching story . . . will bring the author many new fans."

Dorothy Garlock

"Just Beyond the Clouds was amazing. It captured me in the first chapter and never let me go . . . . Karen writes about the sort of love we could all use a little more of."

"Tender-hearted readers beware! Karen has done it again! After you turn the last page of Just Beyond the Clouds and put away the tissues, you will find yourself thinking of the characters again and again. Every time you do, you will smile."-Robin Jones Gunn, bestselling author of the Sisterchicks novels and Finding Father Christmas

"Just Beyond the Clouds was amazing. It captured me in the first chapter and never let me go . . . . Karen writes about the sort of love we could all use a little more of."-Richie McDonald, lead singer of Lonestar

"A touching story . . . will bring the author many new fans."-Dorothy Garlock, author of Hope's Highway

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Thousand Tomorrows; Just Beyond the Clouds 4.2 out of 5based on
0 ratings.
37 reviews.

WenGut

More than 1 year ago

I am an avid KK reader and have never finished a book that I didn't love and that didn't leave my heart touched! Karen's gift is so evident, in each story she writes! LOVE Life Changing Fiction ~ because it lives up to its name! ;)

TammyK1

More than 1 year ago

An amazing value and, as always, top-quality entertainment.

Anonymous

More than 1 year ago

I read both these books a long time ago and yet I remember them so well and want to read them again. Worth every penny. I love her books!

As the mother of a Down's Syndrome son who is now in his late 20's, I certainly enjoyed the happenings of Carl Joseph. I agreed with the parents decision to allow "life to be lived". God guided your hand and your heart in the writing of these books. Thanks for keeping "our" kids close to heart!

kittycrochettwo on LibraryThing

25 days ago

There is a reason why Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorite authors. Her writing touches your heart. She pulls you into the world of the characters that she writes about, you feel their triumphs and their losses, her stories move you, and I always continue to think about the characters long after the story ends. This compilation of stories is no different, they draw you in and keep you reading, teaching us valuable lessons in faith and love.In "A Thousand Tomorrows", Cody Gunner is the best bull rider around. For him it isn't about the love of the sport, instead its about the eight seconds on the bull. He can leave his anger and emotion on the back of the bull, it lets him live with the rage he has felt since he was eight years old. The year his dad left. While he heard his dad tell his mom, he had to leave because of Cody's younger brother Carl Joseph,who has Down syndrome, he blames his mom for not making him stay. He also wonders what was wrong with him that made his dad not come back. All of these secrets he keeps to himself on the rodeo circuit.Ali Daniels wants to be the top barrel racer in the world. Like Cody, she is a loner keeping to herself. She is also harboring secrets that she doesn't want the other riders on the rodeo circuit to know. She soon thinks that Cody is a kindred spirit, and Cody accidentally finds out Ali's secret, she knows she can trust him. Will they ever have a chance at love, or will Ali's secret keep them apart forever?"Just Beyond The Clouds" is the continuation of Cody Gunners story. While not giving to much away, he finds himself back home, and wondering if he should give up bull riding. Carl Joseph is attending a special school that teaches people with Down syndrome to live independently. A sweet story develops between Carl Joseph and Daisy, a fellow student in Carl Joseph's school. While telling a very realistic story the author also weaves in information that educated me about Down syndrome. The characters in both stories jump off the page. The hurt Cody felt was tangible. Picturing him as that eight year old boy running after his dad was heartbreaking.If your a fan of christian fiction, that will touch your heart and give you a great message, you really should pick up these stories. While the author doesn't use scriptures in this book they way she does in most of her writings, Gods message still shines thru!While this book is the second in the series, it can be read as a stand alone story, although I think you might enjoy it more if you read "A Thousand Tomorrows" first, which is why I recommend purchasing the omnibus.

New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker offers an exclusive, ebook original novella in this
abridgment of A.D. 30, the epic historical novel about a woman who rises to lead her people after meeting Jesus. Maviah, the outcast daughter of ...

FBI behavioral psychologist Daniel Clark is a man on a mission. After over a year
of tracking a mysterious serial killer known as Eve, he feels closer than ever to discovering the murderer's true identity when he finds Eve's latest ...

Seth, a certified genius, and Miriam, a Saudi Princess, find themselves thrown together as fugitives
in a high-stakes chase across Southern California. . . . but with no sleep and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, their chances of surviving ...

Are there tried and true principles that are always certain to help a person grow?
John Maxwell says the answer is yes. He has been passionate about personal development for over fifty years, and here, he teaches everything he has ...

With humor and a modern perspective, young conservative journalist Kristin Tate points out what's broken
in our government and shows readers how they can fix it. Do you really think you're free? #LOL.D.C. politicians ship our friends and family overseas ...

Full of interactive questions and space for readers to provide answers, as well as new
material for readers to assess their current type of thinking, this workbook guides readers in applying the lessons they learned from How Successful People Think ...

Two of New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury's most beloved novels are now available
together in this expertly packaged omnibus.LIKE DANDELION DUST is a powerful novel about two parents, their love for their adopted son, Joey, and the suprising ...